Not resting on its laurels after last year’s triumphant E3, Sony brings it again to E3 2014.

Okay, so I actually did end up watching Microsoft’s E3 press conference, although I said I wouldn’t. I was curious if they’d recover from last year. And although they did, and focused exclusively on games, I was still unimpressed. It seems they’re focusing on the same game genres they’ve always focused on, relying too heavily on existing IP’s and franchises. If I had to sum up the press conference, I’d say it felt old and tired.

So Sony didn’t have to do much to impress gamers this year, especially after knocking it out of the park last year. But they brought their A-Game anyway, and you could tell from the enthusiasm in their audience (and on Twitter) that they were impressing the people who mattered: gamers. Their conference was full of thrills, chills and some awesome surprises, so shall we get to the sum-up?

Games, Games, and More Games

Sony opened with one of its most-anticipated titles yet: Destiny. I really want to play this game, except that it’s co-op (a disturbing trend that seems to keep popping up at this year’s E3). I may even bite the bullet if there’s an option to play with computer-created and played characters, though, because this game looks absolutely stunning.

But the trailer wasn’t all that Sony was giving to gamers. The company also announced a white (!) Destiny Playstation 4 bundle coming out this fall. WHITE! I almost wished I’d waited to buy a PS4 now. Almost. And oh yeah, Destiny is a PS4 exclusive.

But Sony focused even more on exclusive titles (something which Microsoft seemed to lack this year) by showing off the new trailer for 1886: The Order. I’m so psyched about this game that I pre-purchased it back in 2013. Yes, I pre-purchased a game two years before it’s supposed to be released. You’ll understand why if you watch this trailer.

But Sony STILL wasn’t done showing off its mad gaming library. They also introduced indie title Entwined. But this announcement wasn’t just a trailer. Because Sony announced that Entwined is available NOW on PS4 for just $9.99. How’s that for instant gratification. The trailer sold me on it:

But wait, there’s more. Just when you thought Sony would switch over the conference to talk about entertainment or Project Morpheus (and there was a little mention of that), they kept the games coming. This one turned out to be one of the big surprises of the night. For those who have played Infamous: Second Son, you’ll have already fallen in love with a character (a female, I might add) called Fetch. Well, a new standalone game (as in, you don’t need to have Infamous: Second Son to play it) is being released with Fetch as the playable character.

The biggest and most impressive surprise of the evening, though? The official announcement and an on-stage demo of Little Big Planet 3. I squealed like a 10-year-old Bieber fan, no lie. And the audience at the conference went crazy. Twitter blew up and the world was fangirling. It was awesome. No one expected Media Molecule to even be at E3 this year, so kudos to Sony for keeping this a secret. Check out some actual gameplay from the new game:

At this point, Sony won the E3 conference of the year award. But they still weren’t finished throwing exclusive titles at us. They showed a trailer that with two simple words had the audience nearly on their feet: Hidetaka Miyazaki. This is the man that gave us Demon Souls, Dark Souls and Armored Core and gamers adore him. His latest project is Bloodborne, which as you’ll see from this trailer is full of horrific, gothic and wonderful awesomeness.

Two other games followed, both not titles I’m incredibly interested in, but definitely pleasing to a lot of gamers: Far Cry 4 and Dead Island 2. Both trailers are available on YouTube via the PlayStation channel. The company also announced that Battlefield: Hardline beta is now available on the PS4.

Exclusive PS4 Content

PlayStation 4 doesn’t just have some awesome exclusive games coming up, though. There’s also a lot of great exclusive content on its way. For starters, the Battlefield: Hardline beta is now open to any PS4 player who wants to play it.

There’s also a Dead Island 2 expansion, a themed dungeon, exclusive to PS4, for the new Diablo game. Which is all kinds of crazy.

Sony is also partnering with Disney Infinity to bring certain characters, including the Hulk, only to PS4.

The previously-mentioned Destiny will have exclusive content that will be available the first day on PS4.

Magicka 2 will be an exclusive PS4 title.

The most exciting bit of this part of the conference, though? The announcement that Doublefine is working on remastering Grim Fandango. This was another moment where the audience went nuts.

There were also a slew of exclusive indie titles for PS4, including the very awesome looking Let It Die. This one is a must on my now-growing PS4 wishlist:

Giant Squid, the developers behind Journey, are also releasing a PS4-exclusive called ABZU.

An awesome new science fiction indie game will see its debut on PS4, No Man’s Sky. This one is also on my new wishlist.

Sony mentioned the camera jokingly, before talking briefly about Project Morpheus. They’re demoing it with several games at the conference this week. WHY CAN’T I BE THERE?

Socializing Gaming

The PlayStation4 has some nice social features, some of which I actually use. I adore the “Share” button and often post screenshots and the occasional video of me dying in some funny way to Twitter and Facebook. This year, though, Sony talked about its plans to enhance and improve how we share our gaming experiences, including the ability to post video to YouTube. This is a HUGE deal because YouTube is huge and that’s the video sharing site most gamers would prefer to use.

Spectating sessions is already a part of PS4, but it’s becoming interactive. You can now watch someone play a game, anywhere in the world, and jump in to give advice or screw up their gameplay. PS4 will also get broadcasting capabilities that allow you to create your own little broadcasting set. Not a lot of detail was given about that, but it sounds cool, right?

There will also be more than 25 Free To Play (truly free, according to Sony) coming up on PS4 in the next year or so. Some of the titles mentioned were Kingdom Under Fire 2, Planetside 2 and Guns Up.

We’ve already heard a lot about PlayStation Now, but we finally have a release date and it’s much closer than expected: open beta begins next month, July 21st on PS4. PS3 and PS Vita will get it later on. There will be more than 100 games available on launch, including Dead Space 3, God Of War: Ascension, Metal Gear Solid 5, Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus and Ultra Street Fighter 4. But PS Now isn’t just for consoles: select Sony television sets will come equipped for it, no console required (although you will need to get a controller).

Sony didn’t spend a lot of time on Vita, but did brag that it has the best catalog of games available on a mobile device and that they’re working on evolving integration with PS4. There are more than 100 Vita-specific titles in development right now and one of those is, yes, Minecraft.

Finally, a new sort of console thing will launch this fall called PlayStation TV. This will allow you to use Remote Play to play any of your PS4 games on any TV in your house. Sony says that over 1,000 games will be available at launch. The price point had everyone cheering: it’s a very reasonable $99.

Sony took a break to show off some gameplay footage of Mortal Kombat X. I’m not a fighter fan, but there were some fanboys and fangirls in that audience going crazy.

PS4 Entertainment

In an odd move that felt off, especially after someone said “It’s all about the games,” Sony went into its entertainment options on PlayStation 4. They announced that the Powers series has been greenlit (based on the popular graphic novel) and that PS Plus members will get that, plus other exclusive TV series, for free (although it’s not really free if you’ve paid for a Plus membership).

Oh, and there’s also a Ratchet & Clank movie in the works. The trailer said “In Theatres,” so I guess it will be a worldwide release. I’m not really feeling it.

Remastered Classics

Sony already mentioned its remastering of Grim Fandango, but that isn’t the only classic game that’s getting an update for the PS4. Other titles include The Last Of Us and the original Ratchet & Clank.

More Games

Sony showed off trailers for more games, including Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. I’m not a MGS fan, but that trailer was awesome. Also, Grand Theft Auto V is coming to PS4, but even better, you can port your save, from ANY console (Xbox included) to the PS4 game. That’s bloody brilliant, isn’t it?

How about some more gameplay? Sony decided to show off what Arkham Knight looks like. Most people drooled at the quality of the gameplay footage because it looks much better than anything we’ve seen so far. Check it out:

It was time to end the conference, and Sony had to go out on a “throw the mike on the floor and swagger off” note. So what did they do? They pulled out all the stops and gave us what we wanted: the first trailer for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Seriously, folks, it doesn’t get better than this.

I felt excited and energized after the conference and felt Sony really knocked out of the park again this year. But I’d love to hear what you think: what did you like (or not like) about Sony’s press conference? Leave me a note in the comments.

E3 2014: All the buzz, excitement and games I hope to see.

Well, it’s that time of the year again: that time when we all go nuts over video games for a whole week. I’ll admit, I’m a little more subdued this year about E3 than in years’ past, but that’s probably because we’ve finally seen next-gen systems come to market. But I still have a few things I hope that comes out of this year’s conference:

More Freaking Next-Gen Games

I’ve had my PlayStation 4 since last year and I am desperately in need of games to play for it. I don’t need games that keep getting pushed back a year (seriously, I’m thinking that was the plan all along, and I hate the game devs for it). I want games now. This year. I don’t care if their the big titles or indies, but PLEASE BRING ME SOME FREAKING NEXT-GENERATION CONSOLE GAMES. Is that asking for too much?

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Speaking of new games, Dragon Age: Inquisition is one I’ve been fiending about since it was announced. So I would love to see some actual in-game footage at this year’s E3. I’ve pre-ordered the title and I’ll be honest: I’m afraid this is going to be yet ANOTHER awesome game pushed back until 2015. I want to know that it’s on track and that I’ll get it in October, as I expect. So BioWare, please make that happen.

Project Morpheus

The only console press conference I plan on watching this year is Sony’s. I’ve all but abandoned my XBox and will probably never own an XBox One, so I’m depending on Sony to keep me entertained. I want to see more about Project Morpheus, Sony’s VR project, and I want to see a real demonstration of it in action. Even better? Show me an actual Project Morpheus game.

Fallout 4

Dear Bethesda Studios, it’s time to stop denying the Fallout 4 rumors and just give us what we want. Even if you just come out and say “Yes, we’re working on Fallout 4,” that’s really all we fans of the series need. This would be the surprise announcement to come out of E3 and it’s also the one we really, really, really want to hear.

Half Life 3

Okay, I lied. Because if Half Life 3 is announced, that will be the big surprise of E3. Recent news has stated that Valve is working on it, so I’m hoping they just admit to it and let the fans go nuts. This is one game sequel that is WAY overdue.

So that’s it. And now that I look back on my list, it’s relatively short compared to previous E3’s. There are other titles I’m excited about, but almost all of those don’t come out until next year, so why bother? Meanwhile, I’ll just sit here while my PlayStaton 4 gathers dust.

So what about you? What are you looking forward to seeing (or hoping to see) at this year’s E3?

I usually cover all things E3 on this site, but now that I’m writing for Rebel Gaming, I’ve been posting some things over there, too. So for you all to make sense of everything, I’ll post links for each days’ events here. Some of these things I’ve written, some are written by my fellow Rebel Gamers. So let’s get started.

My E3 Picks

Before E3, I wrote up a list of things I wanted to see. E3 WishList: Robin’s Picks. Every single one of my items were ticked off on Day One. How’s that for one of my favorite E3 events ever? Needless to say, I was most excited about the release of the first Dragon Age: Inquisition trailer. My fangirl head exploded when I heard Claudia Black’s distinctive voice.

Microsoft vs. Sony

Day One of E3 also brings the press conferences. The two biggies are Microsoft and Sony. I will admit that I hoped Microsoft would prove all the recent bad press wrong about the Xbox One, but they didn’t. And even worse, the games line-up is depressingly boring, with a lot more of the same (do we really need another Halo title?). Fellow Rebel Gamer Chris covered the highlights here: E3: Microsoft’s Conference: All The Important Stuff.

I got to cover the Sony press conference, which I am happy to report was a lot more exciting. Not only did we find out that Sony decided to listen to gamers and not restrict used games and require online connections, but we also got to see some amazing titles from diverse genres. This is where Sony always wins – with the games. Sony also delivered a much better price point than Microsoft and are now probably off celebrating their E3 major win in the bar for the rest of the week. You can read my full wrap-up of that conference here: E3: Sony Brings Down The House with the PlayStation 4.

So all in all, if I don’t see any more out of E3, I’m a happy camper. There’s a PlayStation 4 sitting in my Amazon Wishlist (I’m going to ask my Mom if she will go in on half of the price for me as a Christmas present) and I’m finally excited about the next-gen console race, even if Microsoft has already lost it.

Sony’s Big PS4 Reveal Yesterday Was More of a Confirmation Than A Reveal

I am not entirely sure what we all expected at yesterday’s Sony PS4 reveal announcement. However, an actual reveal of the PS4 really wasn’t given – we never once saw what the new console will look like. There was no actual console shown and no photos of it displayed. Basically, all Sony did yesterday was confirm the things we had already heard in rumors and show us a slew of game trailers.

In two hours, however, we still haven’t learned much about Sony’s next-generation console. Questions like whether it will allow used games still linger. Sony also did not touch upon things like price points or whether the machine will require a constant online connection in order to function (as some rumors have stated). However, some of these lingering questions were answered after the announcement itself.

So what exactly did we learn?

The new DualShock4 controller (as seen above) seems unwieldy. I have small hands. This thing does not look comfortable to hold. It features a touch pad on front, a “share” button, built-in speakers, only a single “Options” button, a provided mono headset, built-in sensor for motion control and redesigned buttons.

The PS4’s main processor will be a single-chip custom processor, an x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” with 8 cores. There will be a second chip dedicated solely to uploads and downloads.

The console’s GPU is an AMD next-generation Radeon-based graphics engine.

The console with have 8GB of GDDR5 memory.

Along with a built-in hard drive of undetermined size, the PS4 will also have a 6x speed Blu-Ray drive, an 8x speed DVD drive and USB 3.0.

You will be able to suspend gameplay and “switch off” the PS4 with a sort of sleep mode function, saving your place in your current game. This means you won’t need to boot the system everytime to load a game.

You’ll be able to see what your friends are doing, playing, watching, etc. There will be a recommendation engine that will base its suggestions on what you’ve been doing on the system. (Let’s hope it’s more accurate than Netflix’s recommendations.)

You will be able to run multiple apps at once.

Remote Play will allow you to play PS4 games on your Vita using WiFI.

There will be a PlayStation app (similar to Microsoft’s SmartGlass) that will allow you to use your smartphone or tablet as a second screen.

Digital titles from the PlayStation Network can be played as they are downloaded.

People will be “encouraged” to play online with their real names (most gamers are not going to like this).

Some games will allow sections to be played free before buying.

You will be able to broadcast a live stream of what you’re currently playing.

If you’re stuck in a game, you can invite friends into your play session to play your game for you.

Updates for the console can be downloaded while the console is turned off.

The replacement for PlayStation Move, the PlayStation Eye, will be integrated into the new console. It will operate much like Kinect.

As far as the important questions go, though, what about used games? According to CVG, the PS4 will not block used games. Considering Sony has recently patented technology to do that, this is good news. CVG also confirmed that the system will not require an always online connection, as previously rumored.

One seriously disappointing bit of news is that PSN Games from the PS3, along with those game saves, will not transfer to the PS4. So for games like Dragon Age 3 (which is being developed for next-gen consoles), everything that you accomplished and the choices you made in the first two games will be null and void on the new Sony system. Boo! Here’s hoping that the new Xbox won’t be so limiting.

The final queston – that of price, has still not been tackled and probably won’t be for some time. But I’m guessing anywhere from $400 for a base model to $600 for an elite model can be expected. We also still haven’t seen what the console actually looks like, which I find odd for something called a “reveal.”

PS4 Games Reveal

Most of what the big announcement contained yesterday was more about the games we can expect on the PS4. Titles that were introduced were Killzone: Shadow Fall, inFAMOUS: Second Son, a new racing game from Evolution Studios, Knack, Watch_Dogs, The Witness and Diablo III. A total of 149 development studios and publishers are reportedly supporting the PS4 system.

So there you have it, all the details we have so far on the PS4. It is expected to be released this year, but I’m going to go ahead and guess that this date might be pushed back. Call it a hunch, but as we still haven’t seen the system, I’m thinking it’s not actually even close to ready yet.

I have to admit that going into this year's E3, I just am not all that excited. Most of the games I'm looking forward to have already been announced and have had trailers released. No major surprises are anticipated and talk of new consoles seems to have been put off until next year (save for the Wii-U, which I find, personally, uninspiring).

I have to admit that going into this year’s E3, I just wasn’t that excited. Most of the games I’m looking forward to have already been announced and have had trailers released. No major surprises are anticipated and talk of new consoles seems to have been put off until next year. Well, no new consoles, except for one, which was announced last year: The Wii U. I found last year’s announcement confusing and uninspired. However, after watching the trailer for ZombiU, a new Wii U title, I’m intrigued. It seems that Nintendo may finally be getting back to its more hardcore gamer base.

So what other goodies did E3 Day one bring?

Microsoft’s press conference opened with Halo 4, which I have to admit, looks epic. However, things seemed to go downhill from that. However, I did think the presentation of Microsoft’s Smartglass technology, which allows you to seamlessly sync entertainment from your XBox to your PC to your mobile phone to your tablet and back again, was pretty cool. I also like that Microsoft is finally giving the XBox an actual web browsing experience, but why does it have to be with the awful Internet Explorer browser?

I completely missed the Sony press conference, but considering I don’t have a PS3, I’m not too disappointed. However, see the below trailers for a a Sony title or two (including Beyond: Two Souls featuring actress Ellen Page).

Game Trailers, Previews and Gameplay Videos

Although I’m not a Halo fan, Halo 4 still looked great in its trailer. I especially liked the Tomb Raider gameplay trailer and of all the games I saw yesterday, this is the one I’m most interested in. And remember my previous rant about Assassins Creed 3 and how the developer stated a female assassin would be wrong during that time period? Well, obviously, that was a huge misdirect because Assassins Creed: Liberation, a PS Vita title, will feature a revolutionary female assassin kicking but. Well played, Ubisoft, but if the game is any good, you need not manipulate your potential buyers.

Other Items of Note

Nyko and NVIDIA have announced a partnership to co-develop controllers for Android tablets with Tegra 3 quad-core processors.

Dead Space 3 will hit stores in February 2013!

Microsoft has announced the game lineup for their 2012 Summer of Arcade promotion: Deadlight, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Hybrid, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, and Wreckateer.

Ubisoft announced ZombiU, a hardcore zombie game for the Wii U.

Sony will be teaming with J.K. Rowling for a new game called Wonderbook. It seems a little kiddie.

Sony announced that they are teaming with HTC phones to make them PlayStation certified. If this is anything like my Sony Tablet S, which is PlayStation certified, that means you’ll get five games and then be forgotten.

More PSOne games will be coming to the PS Vita, along with Hulu and Crackle.

Sony PS Plus members will be getting some free games, including Infamous 2.

So we got through the first day of E3, which is always the most harrowing. Press conference after press conference and game trailer after game trailer. Today, hopefully, will be a little easier. I'm still debating if I'm even going to watch the Nintendo conference, but because people actually seem to be reading these blog posts, I will. But again, that one will be written up a little later (possibly tomorrow, actually). However, there's still plenty of news and trailers coming out of E3 and here's what we have at the beginning of today:

So we got through the first day of E3, which is always the most harrowing. Press conference after press conference and game trailer after game trailer. Today, hopefully, will be a little easier. I’m still debating if I’m even going to watch the Nintendo conference, but because people actually seem to be reading these blog posts, I will. But again, that one will be written up a little later (possibly tomorrow, actually). However, there’s still plenty of news and trailers coming out of E3 and here’s what we have at the beginning of today:

PlayStation Vita

I think this is the big ticket item to come out of E3 this year. This little portable is going to change the way we game on portables. And probably convince some of us hardcore gamers to go portable. We’ve already seen some titles being announced, but there are a few new ones this morning, including two Oddworld games, Ridge Racer, Virtua Tennis 4. All of this plus an Uncharted game, Little Big Planet and a Bioshock game. I only wish this was coming out before August so I could take it on my trip to Europe with me. I could use this sort of entertainment on that long flight. Oh, well, this is my Christmas present, I suppose, this year.

More Sony Hacking

Meanwhile, Hacker collective LulzSec announced that once again it has compromised the Sony BMG servers. As proof, LulzSec posted network maps from a Sony BMG office in New York City, as well as some Sony developer source code. At this point, I’m starting to feel sorry for Sony, which I hardly think is the hackers’ point.

Cloud Storage on XBox 360

Well, Sony is doing it, so I figured XBox would as well. Everyone is going cloud these days, including some company that has a fruit for a logo. I forget the name as I’ve been so engrossed with E3 while they were having some lesser conference. This is hardly a new concept, after all.

I was a little concerned since Sony started their event about a half hour too late and right up front, a very somber Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony, came out and spoke immediately about the PSN hacking. I was surprised that he was so upfront about it and very impressed by his apology and thanks to players who stuck it out with PSN throughout the whole affair. Kudos to Sony for doing that.

I was a little concerned since Sony started their event about a half hour too late and right up front, a very somber Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony, came out and spoke immediately about the PSN hacking. I was surprised that he was so upfront about it and very impressed by his apology and thanks to players who stuck it out with PSN throughout the whole affair. Kudos to Sony for doing that.

However, it put a strain on the event. I’ve always found Sony’s guys a little more formal than the Microsoft and Nintendo guys, and that was even more evident tonight. They just didn’t seem all that thrilled to be there or about the things they were announcing. At least, not at first. But I’ll get to that.

So… what did they talk about?

Cinema Now

The first thing mentioned was a partnership with Cinema Now for PSN. That, still doesn’t compare to the partnerships XBox Live has, though. But I’ve always felt that XBox Live was worth paying for and PSN wasn’t (even moreso now).

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

We saw a demo of this game. And it is nice looking. I have a little familiarity with this title, although I do not own a PS3, and it is a game I would play if I had the console. The demo looked great. It is also boasting a multi-player experience unlike anything else. Also on June 20th, PS3 owners can go to their local Subway and get early access to the multi-player (this is not a beta, they explained, but access to the full multi-player experience).

3D

I’m going to mention this just once. Sony is obsessed with 3D. And talked about it at great length. Enough to put me to sleep and not even notice at one point that the stream had stopped because my cat sat on my computer keyboard. Sony has a lot of money tied up in 3D entertainment and games. I don’t think 3D is ever going to take off the way they hope, though. It’s a gimmick. It does not replace a good story or good art design in either a video game or film. But there is a 3D bundle coming out with a 24″ display included soon. The price point is good. But really? 3D on a 24″ display? I’m not feeling it. I think Sony needs to lighten up on this obsession.

Resistance 3

This is a title that I’ve always felt was deliberately created to compete with the XBox 360 shooters. And the new game seems about the same. Not my cup of tea. And not really that impressive. Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch it in 3D like everyone in the real audience did.

Move

I’m lumping all the Move stuff under one thing here. Mostly because Move feels like the thing Sony did in order to keep up with XBox’s Kinect and the Wii. It doesn’t look or feel right to me. It never did. But Resistance 3 will work with it, as well a new God of War HD/3D collection (again with the 3D) and a new Eco and Shadow of the Collosus collection. There was also an NBA title and a fantasy title I didn’t catch because my cat sat on my keyboard again. My cat doesn’t like Sony, I guess. I was starting to get bored at this point, myself.

Infamous 2

If I ever bought a PS3 for a single game, Infamous would have been it. I just really liked that game – the story and the design and the graphics. Infamous 2 looks equally as appealing, but one game in a sea of many games isn’t enough to motivate me to shell out nearly $300 for a gaming console anymore. I have trips to Europe to pay for, after all. Gorgeous looking game, though. Also compatible with Move.

Little Big Planet 2

I love Little Big Planet. It’s one of the few games I’ve played on the PS3. It’s addictive. I’m sure the second will be, as well. More on Little Big Planet later, though… No trailer for the second title in this series.

Starhawk
This is another game that looks an awful like Sony took a bunch of XBox 360 games and threw them together. It’s pretty, but it didn’t grab me.

Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time

This looks adorable. I’m not familiar with this particular title, but I can see myself playing it. If I had a PS3.

Dust 514

Another PS3 exclusive. It’s a shooter that will support for Move. It’s created by the Eve Online guys. It looks a lot like Eve Online.

Bioshock: Infinite

I’ve been wanting to see this trailer since E3 began this morning! But why is it showing at the Sony conference? Turns out they’re actually making it compatible for Move. I demand that it also be made compatible for Kinect. Kinect is SO much better.

But there was more. The NGP is finally mentioned, the new portable device that Sony has been working on. And apparently, there will be a Bioshock game created for that device. Now I’m intrigued. But more on that later.

However, Bioshock: Infinite looks amazing. Very different from the previous games, but still keeping that feel of the first two in the series. I’m really looking forward to this new take on the franchise.

Game Partnerships

This felt like filler during the conference, but there will be some exclusive content for some various multi-platform games for PS3. But honestly, I bet there will be different content available for XBox 360 that will be exclusive to it. This isn’t really something to brag about. At this point, I’m debating turning off the conference and turning on my XBox 360 to play some more L.A. Noire. I am super bored. There will be some Saints Row 3 extra content, as well as some extra content for the new Star Trek game, a phasar-shaped Move controller will be available, an extra race for SSX, more cars for Need for Speed: The Run and a second game added to the Battlefield 3 disk called Battlefield 1943.

Playstation Vita

This used to be called the NGP. And this is the BIG GUN that Sony was pulling out for the conference. After explaining that the word “Vita” means life, we are told that it has two analog sticks, a multi-touch 5″ OLED screen, motion sensing technology and front and rear cameras. It will come as a wifi model or a wifi/3G model. And it will be awesome. Because that’s how this thing came across. This is where the Sony guys started getting excited during the conference. Once they’d showed off this little baby, everything felt better.

The first thing we see on the Vita? Actual gameplay from Uncharted: Golden Abyss. And it was as beautiful as the Uncharted games on the PS3. It had great production values and fantastic graphics and animation. This thing is a workhouse and obviously has some serious processing power under its little hood. And it was smooth.

It’s also directly compatible with a PS3. And I think I want one for Christmas.

But more titles were announced., including Ruin, a sort of strategy action RPG thing that also looked gorgeous. It was during this game that we saw the cloud-based saving that allows you to jump from gaming on the Vita to the PS3 and back again. Pretty cool. There was also a ModNation Racers game being demo’d on the Vita. The audience got particularly excited hearing about Street Fighter X Tekken on the portable device, as well, which also has Cole from Infamous as one of its playable characters.

But what sold me? Little Big Planet. With all the features, including the community and user-created content, of the game, right there on a handheld. I have never wanted a handheld until now. This thing just officially stole my heart and made the Sony event the highlight of my E3 experience.

According to Sony, there are more than 80 titles currently in development for Vita and almost all of the major publishers are on board.

And thanks to Sony Vita, I may have a Merry Christmas, as it was announced that the Vita would be available this holiday season. Price? $249 for wifi model and $299 for wifi/3G. Not bad at all, Sony. Well played.

The crowd was officially won over after seeing Vita and boy, did Sony need that.